The Chronicle of Theophanes Confessor: Byzantine and Near Eastern History, AD 284-813 Review

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The Chronicle of Theophanes Confessor: Byzantine and Near Eastern History, AD 284-813 ReviewAs this is a primary source, I am reviewing the edition, not Theophanes as a historian.
There is not a whole lot to say about this text. It is quite simply the best translation available in English today. I cannot comment too much on the translation itself as I have little experience with Theophanes' Greek, but it is clear and highly readable. It also does not attempt to play with the Greek quite to the extent that Turtledove's translation does. This edition also benefits from having a wider range of text available. Turtledove chose to start his in 602 AD, which was a rather poor starting point as it eliminates the possibility of using his translation for Justinian and his successors, something that is relevant. Mango chooses to start with Diocletian, which places this text on much firmer ground. While there is very little of the text that is not actually extant in Theophanes' sources before the time of Herakleios, it is nice to have, and helps put Theophanes' chronicle in wider perspective. Mango has also gone to the pains of citing Theophanes' sources for us. This is absolutely invaluable, for it helps us determine how Theophanes used source material as well as allowing us to analyze what sources he used, and thus look for unique material.
This is a great text. It far surpasses Harry Turtledove's The Chronicle of Theophanes: Anni mundi 6095-6305 (A.D. 602-813) (The Middle Ages) in length, notes, and general usefulness. THe reason that it does not get 5 stars is the fact that it is unreasonably expensive, even for an academic book. It simply has no chance to compete in terms of usefulness to students who are looking for an edition of Theophanes to buy, as the $20 for Turtledove's inferior edition is far more reasonable than the $240 for Mango's translation.The Chronicle of Theophanes Confessor: Byzantine and Near Eastern History, AD 284-813 Overview

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